More Branden Albert talk: Why we should give him a fat contract if he plays guard

I think at this point the Chiefs need to go this direction with him rather than working to trade him. He's a valuable offensive linemen whether you think he's top 5, top 15, or even just meh. The Chiefs as of late haven't exactly been very lucky with drafting guards and finding replacements via free agency. The interior line needs to either do some gelling or we need to seek out replacements. Albert at LG (or RT) would help out tremendously.

I think we can afford to pay Albert what he wanted to play LT in Miami, and just make him one of the highest paid guards or RTs in the game. From the sportrac link that patteeu posted, here are the average salaries of the top 5 guards:

Without any knowledge of how the cap will lay out in the coming seasons and what player contracts will do, it's impossible to know what kind of position we'll be in. A lot of the players on these lists are pretty interchangeable with rookies/free agents we bring in and out. Many of them could be cut immediately in Reid's first training camp.

However, given the expected ages of some of these players in 2016, I still think we're in okay shape. An extension wouldn't be as big of a deal if we still wanted to keep them around at a lower veteran salary. Or, we could just let them walk, which may need to happen especially with Hali, Johnson, or even Charles (no telling what wear and tear a RB will sustain in the coming years)

Essentially, I think it boils down to two MUST re-sign players: Eric Berry and Justin Houston. It's possible to keep guys we (may) like such as Asamoah, Hudson, Schwartz, and Poe. But for only two players that will demand some sizeable contracts, that's not bad.

It's why I think especially after some rich deals like Hali's and Alex Smith's are either re-structured or taken off, we can afford to keep Albert on a fat deal. And given the headache of trying to trade his ass, we could also just let him walk after this year, but I think he can still be pretty damn valuable to this team.

The key is of course if Albert is content with hush money. Time will tell if he backs down from his stance of "I'm a LT, damn it!"

So then cap Albert's extension at ending one year before the end of Fisher's. That gives the Chiefs some evaluation time of both players, and if they still want to keep Albert, they can sign him to another less expensive veteran contract. Or let him walk. Or keep him and let Fisher go. At least is keeps your options open.

And the best part is all that is getting done while Fisher plays at a much smaller price.

Yep.

You sign Albert to a deal that mirrors Fishers. By the time that happens Albert will have been in the league for 10 years and you move on and sign Fisher to a long term deal so long as he panned out how people expect.

At this point I would have rather them kept Winston and let Albert walk

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Quote:

"He had no teeth, and he was slobbering all over himself. I'm thinking, 'You can have your money back, just get me out of here. Let me go be an accountant." I can't tell you how badly I wanted out of there."Denver rookie QB John Elway, on Jack Lambert, after Lambert and the Steelers knocked Elway out of his first game as a pro (1983).